Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Qualys from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Qualys from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Qualys in a report on Friday, April 26th. They set a sector perform rating and a $172.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $164.50.

Qualys Price Performance

Qualys stock opened at $147.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.14 and a beta of 0.49. Qualys has a fifty-two week low of $131.07 and a fifty-two week high of $206.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.51.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The software maker reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $145.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.67 million. Qualys had a net margin of 28.48% and a return on equity of 47.28%. On average, analysts expect that Qualys will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Qualys

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 928 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.97, for a total transaction of $155,876.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,654,132.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.14, for a total transaction of $179,736.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,011,910.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 928 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.97, for a total value of $155,876.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,654,132.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,027 shares of company stock worth $4,216,326 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Qualys in the first quarter worth $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Qualys by 1,666.7% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Qualys by 545.2% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 200 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Company Profile

Qualys, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud-based platform delivering information technology (IT), security, and compliance solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers Qualys Cloud Apps, which include Cybersecurity Asset Management and External Attack Surface Management; Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response; Web Application Scanning; Patch Management; Custom Assessment and Remediation; Multi-Vector Endpoint Detection and Response; Context Extended Detection and Response; Policy Compliance; File Integrity Monitoring; and Qualys TotalCloud, as well as Cloud Workload Protection, Cloud Detection and Response, Cloud Security Posture Management, Infrastructure as Code, and Container Security.